Company benefits

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Company social benefits are benefits from employers to employees or company retirees or their relatives, which are paid in addition to regular wages .

Legal basis of company social benefits

Company benefits are due

Statutory company social benefits

To the statutory employee benefits include employers' contributions to the statutory health , pension , unemployment and long-term care and insurance premiums against industrial accidents and occupational diseases or sick leave . In addition, there are benefits due to maternity leave and the payment of public holidays and other downtimes.

Collective company social benefits

In the collective bargaining agreement, in particular, provisions on the length of vacation , vacation pay , type and amount of bonuses , 13th month salary , company pension , family allowance and asset accumulation are agreed between the parties to the collective agreement. Collective social benefits can partially overlap with voluntary company social benefits. But only with the voluntary benefits does the employer have a direct influence on the design; the employer is in direct contact with the employee or the works council . The employer's voluntary social benefits are therefore the focus of interest.

Voluntary company benefits

The company pension scheme is an important voluntary social benefit , since it is the company that allocates most of the financial resources to it. It is intended to enable the employee to earn additional income in old age. Another form of company social benefits is asset accumulation , e.g. B. in the form of employee shares . It increases the loyalty to the company, creates freedom and at the same time promotes social integration.

Staff catering in the form of canteens or meal allowances are among the widespread company social benefits. Travel allowances, bus services and the use of free or discounted parking spaces should offer employees convenient transport options and provide reimbursement of costs. In addition to the benefits for employees, sales should also be promoted through staff discounts or staff sales.

Other voluntary social benefits can be interest-free or low-interest employer loans . Support can also be provided in emergencies. There is, for example, the death benefit fund , which provides bridging assistance to the surviving dependents of employees who have died while on active duty, or additional risk insurance. Companies can provide counseling services in the form of addiction counseling , debt counseling or family counseling .

Company kindergartens and subsidies for childcare costs can contribute to increasing the productivity of employees as company social benefits by reducing absenteeism and improving the working atmosphere.

As part of corporate health promotion , larger companies have created facilities such as the company medical service. Today, in addition to occupational safety and accident protection, this includes grants for membership in the fitness center. Many other social benefits can be enumerated, such as in-house training , company cars , cell phones , laptops , Miles & More discounts and much more.

Even if voluntary services are initially voluntary, the employer may be obliged to perform (see: Company practice ).

The purpose of company benefits

In particular, social benefits have the function of rewarding good performance, strengthening loyalty to the company and improving the working atmosphere. At the same time, they support employer branding . From a social point of view, they serve for welfare and provision. They are also an instrument for shaping general industrial relations.

There are interdependencies between corporate success and corporate social policy, which is why corporate social benefits must be aligned in such a way that they also serve the company's long-term success.

The company social benefits should initially include preventive health care, occupational safety and training, in order to ensure the company's performance through a stable workforce. In addition, a company needs motivated employees, so that corporate social benefits also have the task of developing and implementing common values ​​within the company. The life of the employees should - z. B. through culture or sports - can be made more fulfilling and diverse. Another purpose is to compensate for social disadvantages that may arise due to the employment relationship and to secure the existence of the staff if this cannot be achieved through performance-based wages alone. Company social benefits can reduce social burdens that employees have to bear for the common good and the continued existence of the economy - e. B. by starting a family - has taken on.

Reichwein summarizes the purposes of company social benefits presented in a list of seven motifs. This includes the motif

  1. the welfare and provision for employees
  2. their discipline and upbringing,
  3. maintaining and increasing their work performance,
  4. the loyalty of employees to the company
  5. and improving relationships between employees and managers.

In addition, new employees should be recruited, external influences warded off and the position of the employer secured. The range of company social benefits is based on these motives. The objectively observable consequences of company social benefits are then worked out within a functional analysis. It must be investigated whether the measures carried out also have the desired effects. However, only probable consequences of company benefits can be determined, as very little empirical research has been carried out on this topic. The functional analysis is more about providing a good justification for the likely consequences.

Forms of design

The variants listed are more of a material nature and are part of the overall incentive or compensation system. This can still include intangible elements, such as B. qualification and development opportunities or leadership and cooperation, which z. B. reflected in weekly discussions between employees and superiors. The company's social policy can be described as comprehensive or specific, depending on how it is structured. Comprehensive social policy means granting benefits to the entire workforce. If, on the other hand, the workforce is divided according to different problem areas and different services are provided specifically according to the target group, this is a specific social policy. The problem areas of employees are mostly based on their characteristics. Newly hired, female, disabled, foreign or younger employees each have different needs, which can be appropriately addressed through social policy benefits.

Cafeteria system

An appropriate solution for this is offered by B. the cafeteria system . Here, the employee has the option of choosing from a range of services that best meets his needs. This promotes the flexibility and self-determination of the employees. The company makes a preselection by excluding measures from the cafeteria system that should be made available to every employee, such as: B. Accident prevention or occupational safety. The cafeteria system itself can be designed in such a way that the employees can choose between all measures or bundles of measures.

Effect of company social benefits

With the provision of company social benefits, the loyalty of employees to the company can be strengthened. As part of a company survey, the presumed binding effect was determined as the most important goal in the provision of company social benefits.

With the intended binding effect, the level of qualification of the employees is important. It is important for companies to keep qualified workers in the company. The training measures are often financed by the company. Thus, they have a legitimate interest in keeping the corresponding income from investments in the company. The departure of qualified employees can lead to costly production stoppages, new employees would first have to be trained accordingly and, if necessary, work processes have to be redefined. Finally, despite the possibility of agreeing a non-competition clause, there is still a risk that in-house knowledge will be passed on to third parties. Unskilled workers, on the other hand, are easier to interchange.

Employee retention benefits can be compulsory or emotional. Inevitably means that a social benefit is linked to the length of service. Claims only arise after a certain number of years. The company pension scheme is perhaps the best-known example of a link between social benefits and length of employment. The attempt to create an emotional bond aims to awaken and maintain feelings of gratitude, trust and obligation towards the company in the employee. In this context, Reichwein speaks of creating specific "company loyalty". However, these feelings can only be achieved if the security of the job and thus the security of existence are guaranteed.

In addition to social benefits that have a direct binding effect, benefits that affect soft factors such as job satisfaction and the working atmosphere are also of interest. In this way, an indirect binding effect can be achieved. Possible services are sports, cultural and leisure activities as well as company outings .

Application requirements

In order for a binding effect to be achieved, certain requirements must be met. First of all, the needs and values ​​of the employees must be taken into account. Social benefits that do not meet needs cannot have a binding effect. Important for employees are job security, security of care in old age, self-fulfillment and participation, as well as health and ecological working conditions. In addition, companies must ensure that employees are aware of the existing range of social benefits. According to a survey, employees in the company are only aware of a fifth of the social measures offered.

In addition to selecting suitable social benefits, employers are also responsible for ensuring that they can be financed. It is hardly possible to give a specific indication of the amount of the costs. The decisive factor is the cost-benefit ratio of a social benefit. It therefore makes sense to implement a corresponding controlling in the company for the company social benefits. Companies that are unable to finance certain social benefits independently have the opportunity to enter into cooperation with other companies. But even if self-financing were possible, cooperations also offer savings potential. For example, there is a better negotiating position vis-à-vis insurance companies in the case of joint supply facilities.

When designing their system of social benefits, companies are dependent on the approval of the works council . In accordance with Section 87 (1) No. 8 of the Works Constitution Act , the latter has a right of co-determination in the “form, design and management of social institutions”.

Assessment of company social benefits

The binding effect assumed by company social benefits must be checked. A general statement is not possible due to the large number of different services. Company pension schemes, for example, are said to have a binding effect. However, the effects of occupational pensions have so far only been insufficiently researched. Using the data from the Hanover-based company panel, Schnabel and Wagner counteracted the deficit to some extent and determined that “the existence of a company pension increases employee loyalty to the company. This became evident both when looking at the disadvantage of long-term employees and when analyzing the rate of staff departures in industrial companies in Lower Saxony ”.

The length of service as well as the fluctuation rate are suitable indicators for measuring the relationship between purposes and means. Further training measures and the associated opportunities for advancement can be considered as further means of achieving the purpose. The goal of retaining employees and the company's social benefits as a means of achieving this are legitimate from an ethical point of view.

Social benefits can only have the intended effect if they are based on the needs of employees. The feasibility also depends on the financial feasibility of the individual measures.

From an economic point of view, the intended purpose is to be sought through the least possible use of funds. The focus is therefore on the cost-benefit ratio when implementing social policy measures. As mentioned above, the monetary valuation is usually difficult. Doyé makes an attempt in his book "Analysis and Evaluation of Additional Company Services".

Measures often not only serve the purpose, but can also have negative effects. With specific offers, there is a risk that the division of the workforce can lead to a tense working atmosphere. Therefore, care must be taken not to use social benefits with a corresponding effect to retain employees.

In principle, granted social benefits can be canceled if undesired consequences occur. A retroactive cancellation is not possible. There is a lack of scientific foundation as there are few empirical studies regarding the effect of company social benefits.

The provision of company social benefits is becoming more and more important in society. Companies have a social responsibility to society, they have to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. With the award of the “Labor Prize”, the Future Economy Forum wants to support corporate social policy (Future Economy Forum 2006). In November 2006 Faber-Castell AG was awarded this prize for its “exemplary social working conditions” (Haferkamp 2006, p. 1). The working conditions at Faber-Castell are set out in a social charter, according to which child and forced labor are excluded worldwide, adequate wages are paid and the employees can organize themselves independently.

social benefits

The status of the Federal Republic of Germany as a social federal state is anchored in writing in Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law . The concept of the welfare state can be defined as a “complex of institutions, regulations and procedures [...] which correct and supplement the market control of the labor market, income distribution and living conditions and which the state and social groups play an active role in the economic process assign ”(Bäcker et al. 2000, p. 36).

The social structure in a market economy influences the emergence and distribution of social risks and ensures unequal living conditions and opportunities for participation. The aim of social policy is to limit social risks and problems and to improve income and provision. The scope of social policy measures depends crucially on the political and cultural attitude of a society. The USA, for example, has a different attitude towards justice , solidarity and social equality compared to Germany . Personal responsibility is emphasized more strongly here (cf. Bäcker et al. 2000, pp. 23 and 25).

The welfare state principle affects the processes of the market economy in different ways. Legal regulations are intended to create social standards for the labor market and the structuring of employment relationships. The focus on the microeconomic goal of profit maximization leads to a considerable imbalance that needs to be mitigated. In addition, the income distribution is to be corrected through cash payments in order to prevent poverty as far as possible and to support people in need. In addition, goods and services are provided in the health and social sector - mostly free of charge (cf. Bäcker et al. 2000, p. 50).

There is no generally applicable definition for the term social benefits . In view of the large number of different social policy measures, it is hardly possible to present such a measure. It is advisable to orientate yourself on the social budget that the Federal Government periodically submits. In this, social benefits are referred to as those benefits that are “used by public and non-public bodies for marriage and family, health, employment, old age and survivors, the consequences of political events, housing, saving and as general life support.” (Zöllner 1997, P. 4) The social budget covers the publicly financed and / or statutory-based benefits, which can be divided into direct monetary transfer payments , indirect monetary transfers and real transfers.

The individual services are arranged according to both institutional and functional criteria. The institutional structure provides information about the corresponding institutions and providers of the services. These include the federal, state and local authorities, social insurance, civil service systems and employers. Services may be provided to a person by different institutions, but for the same reason. The list of benefits according to social purpose can be found in the functional structure of the social budget (cf. Bäcker et al. 2000, p. 52ff.).

One focus at this point is on the employer's performance within the framework of company social policy. A distinction can be made between statutory, collective bargaining and voluntary company social benefits. In 2000, according to the data collected from the Cranfield Panel for Germany, the proportion of companies that provided voluntary company social benefits was very low. Company pension schemes alone were offered by more than half of the companies surveyed.

bibliography

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Individual evidence

  1. ↑ cf. Drumm 1989, p. 335
  2. ↑ cf. Nick 1992, p. 2069
  3. ↑ cf. Martin 2001, p. 307
  4. ↑ cf. Andresen 1999, p. 44ff
  5. ↑ cf. Nick 1992, p. 2070
  6. ↑ cf. Kolb 2004, pp. 1746ff.
  7. ↑ cf. Martin 2001, p. 307
  8. ↑ cf. Andresen 1999, p. 44ff.
  9. ↑ cf. Drumm 1989, p. 334
  10. ↑ cf. Reichwein 1965, pp. 74f.
  11. ↑ cf. Kolb 2004, p. 1742
  12. ↑ cf. Nick 1992, pp. 2069f.
  13. ↑ cf. Jirjahn, Stephan 1999, p. 40
  14. ↑ cf. Reichwein 1965, p. 111f.
  15. ↑ cf. Reichwein 1965, p. 115ff.
  16. ↑ cf. Grawert 1988, p. 166ff.
  17. ↑ cf. Nick 1992, p. 2075
  18. ↑ cf. Kolb 2004, p. 1750
  19. ↑ cf. Doyé 2000, p. 17f.
  20. ↑ cf. Kolb 2004, p. 1751
  21. ↑ cf. Nick 1992, p. 2071
  22. ↑ Kolb 2004, p. 1748
  23. ↑ Schnabel, Wagner 1999, p. 90
  24. ↑ cf. Martin 2001, p. 102
  25. ↑ cf. Haferkamp 2006, p. 1